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New ‘Redact Assistant’ Easily Redacts Word and Excel Files
March 21, 2015
Lawyers often have to redact documents in order to obscure confidential, privileged or sensitive information. Redaction is most typically required for documents filed with a court or exchanged during discovery. For PDF documents, redaction is a fairly simple process, because most of the leading PDF programs used by lawyers include redaction as a built-in feature. Both Adobe Acrobat Pro and Nuance Power PDF Advanced include the ability to black out sensitive information. Redaction is not so straightforward...
March 21, 2015
Lawyers often have to redact documents in order to obscure confidential, privileged or sensitive information. Redaction is most typically required for documents filed with a court or exchanged during discovery. For PDF documents, redaction is a fairly simple process, because most of the leading PDF programs used by lawyers include redaction as a built-in feature. Both Adobe Acrobat Pro and Nuance Power PDF Advanced include the ability to black out sensitive information. Redaction is not so straightforward...
Big Data, Internet and the Technology that will Define the Future of Business
March 21, 2015
Our social environment, how we enjoy ourselves, how we buy, what we study, how we travel,… Everything we do has changed...
March 21, 2015
Our social environment, how we enjoy ourselves, how we buy, what we study, how we travel,… Everything we do has changed...
BigLaw’s Ralph Baxter Joins Lex Machina
March 20, 2015
Legal analytics innovator Lex Machina has recruited Orrick Herrington & Sutcliffe former chair Ralph Baxter onto the company’s...
March 20, 2015
Legal analytics innovator Lex Machina has recruited Orrick Herrington & Sutcliffe former chair Ralph Baxter onto the company’s...
Owner’s Representative’s Potential Liability for Defects, Delays, and Damages
March 20, 2015
This article describes the potential scope of work and roles and responsibilities of the owner’s representative (OR) during the construction phase, discusses specific risks accepted by the OR under full-scope OR agreements, and identifies events that could trigger potential liability for damages due to resulting defects or delays from the performance of OR services. The Role of the Owner’s Representative The need for an OR often arises when an owner does not have staff with relevant experience...
March 20, 2015
This article describes the potential scope of work and roles and responsibilities of the owner’s representative (OR) during the construction phase, discusses specific risks accepted by the OR under full-scope OR agreements, and identifies events that could trigger potential liability for damages due to resulting defects or delays from the performance of OR services. The Role of the Owner’s Representative The need for an OR often arises when an owner does not have staff with relevant experience...
Arbiter Does Not Decide Class Arbitration Status
March 20, 2015
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit has joined the Sixth Circuit in concluding that classwide arbitration should...
March 20, 2015
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit has joined the Sixth Circuit in concluding that classwide arbitration should...
Robots are the Lawyers of the Future
March 19, 2015
Lawyers, even at the highest level, are vulnerable to the advances of artificial intelligence as Amazon, Google and Facebook focus on ways of replacing humans with robots in all parts of the workplace. Writing in The Sunday Times, Andrew Keen - author of 'The Internet is Not the Answer' - says: 'Oddly enough, it's the most skilled workers who will be the most vulnerable in the second machine age.' He then explains that gardeners and cooks might not be replaced by software and then points to lawyers...
March 19, 2015
Lawyers, even at the highest level, are vulnerable to the advances of artificial intelligence as Amazon, Google and Facebook focus on ways of replacing humans with robots in all parts of the workplace. Writing in The Sunday Times, Andrew Keen - author of 'The Internet is Not the Answer' - says: 'Oddly enough, it's the most skilled workers who will be the most vulnerable in the second machine age.' He then explains that gardeners and cooks might not be replaced by software and then points to lawyers...
Class Actions: Evolution Toward Merits and Class Discovery Proceeding Together
March 19, 2015
In construction product defect class actions, defendants often argue that discovery should be bifurcated into two phases—“class” and “merits” discovery. These defendants contend that bifurcation helps to alleviate the costs and burdens of a potentially meritless class action in either or both of two ways: (1) by allowing the possibly expensive exploration of the substance of a case to take place only after the proposed class is certified and (2) by preventing the plaintiff’s counsel from...
March 19, 2015
In construction product defect class actions, defendants often argue that discovery should be bifurcated into two phases—“class” and “merits” discovery. These defendants contend that bifurcation helps to alleviate the costs and burdens of a potentially meritless class action in either or both of two ways: (1) by allowing the possibly expensive exploration of the substance of a case to take place only after the proposed class is certified and (2) by preventing the plaintiff’s counsel from...
After Concepcion, Is Your “New” Arbitration Agreement Still Enforceable?
March 19, 2015
In AT&T Mobility LLC v. Concepcion, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the validity of an arbitration agreement waiving consumers’ right to bring contractual claims as a class, instead requiring such claims to be resolved through arbitration. The Court did so by holding that the Federal Arbitration Act preempted a state rule providing that class action waivers in arbitration agreements were unconscionable and, therefore, unenforceable. 131 S. Ct. 1740, 1753 (2011). Since Concepcion became the law of the land,...
March 19, 2015
In AT&T Mobility LLC v. Concepcion, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the validity of an arbitration agreement waiving consumers’ right to bring contractual claims as a class, instead requiring such claims to be resolved through arbitration. The Court did so by holding that the Federal Arbitration Act preempted a state rule providing that class action waivers in arbitration agreements were unconscionable and, therefore, unenforceable. 131 S. Ct. 1740, 1753 (2011). Since Concepcion became the law of the land,...
A law firm IPO? Not so fast.
March 18, 2015
Last year, Akin Gump joined the growing number of law firms asking their partners to chip in more capital — an increasingly popular strategy among firms to boost cash reserves without borrowing from banks. The practice has become more common since the recession, which forced law firms to find new ways to grow amid flat demand for legal services and pressure to offer discounted fees. Access to cash allows firms to invest in new hires, technology upgrades and other capital-intensive efforts to grow...
March 18, 2015
Last year, Akin Gump joined the growing number of law firms asking their partners to chip in more capital — an increasingly popular strategy among firms to boost cash reserves without borrowing from banks. The practice has become more common since the recession, which forced law firms to find new ways to grow amid flat demand for legal services and pressure to offer discounted fees. Access to cash allows firms to invest in new hires, technology upgrades and other capital-intensive efforts to grow...
Class Actions 101: Settlements
March 18, 2015
You have navigated the treacherous waters of class action litigation and finally negotiated a settlement after years of hard labor. So now the parties just have to sign off on the agreement and get it before the presiding judge for approval, correct? Well, it’s not quite that simple most of the time. Due in large part to the magnitude of the settlement affecting absent class members, there are several mileposts to surmount to obtaining final approval of the settlement. Below are some procedures...
March 18, 2015
You have navigated the treacherous waters of class action litigation and finally negotiated a settlement after years of hard labor. So now the parties just have to sign off on the agreement and get it before the presiding judge for approval, correct? Well, it’s not quite that simple most of the time. Due in large part to the magnitude of the settlement affecting absent class members, there are several mileposts to surmount to obtaining final approval of the settlement. Below are some procedures...
